Dispatch One: Eye for Procurement's Chicago LCCS Event

Earlier this week, I had the chance to drop by Eye for Procurement's Low Cost Country Sourcing (LCCS) event in Chicago. The event was much better attended than one of their earlier events in the year (and it was an excellent crowd from a networking and global sourcing responsibility perspective). I plan to write-up a number of observations from the event in a series of dispatches next week, but I'll leave you with two initial observations to think about over the long weekend before going into more detail in the coming days.

First, despite a dollar that just won't quit its slide, the North American interest in low cost country sourcing appears to be as high as ever. But the divide between those who really seem to get it versus those just dabbling or getting started is as wide as ever. Clearly, there are going to be many companies who are left holding the bag when it comes to global sourcing relative to their peers who've made the right set of investments already.

Second, there really is an emphasis on the "global" aspects of low cost country sourcing. No longer are companies just equating LCCS with China. China is still very much in the mix, but I sensed an increased curiosity in other regions as well. Many companies are reevaluating their China options and are also in the discovery phase when it comes to such areas as India and Vietnam. Which perhaps explains why the attendance at this event -- as well as a webinar I hosted with MFG.com on the changing tides of China sourcing a few weeks back -- were so well attended.